By Joy Umo
The former Cross River State Commissioner for Education, Professor Offiong Efanga Offiong, has been confirmed as the 12th Vice Chancellor of the University of Calabar. His appointment was approved on Thursday afternoon by the 14th Governing Council of the institution, chaired by DIG Udom Ekpoudom (rtd).
Professor Offiong, an accomplished scholar, administrator and education reform advocate, brings to the office a distinguished record of academic excellence and public service. Born on November 6, 1963 in Calabar, he completed his primary education with a distinction in 1974 and proceeded to Hope Waddell Training Institution, Calabar, where he passed the West African School Certificate examination with a Division One in 1979.
He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from the University of Calabar, graduating with Second Class Upper Division in 1984. He earned his doctorate in Coordination and Inorganic Chemistry from the same institution in 1990. His doctoral research was supported by the German Academic Exchange Service, which enabled him to conduct laboratory bench work at Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich, Germany. He later obtained a Certificate in Equipment Maintenance from Bristol Polytechnic in the United Kingdom in 1991.
Professor Offiong began his academic career in 1985 as a Graduate Assistant in the Department of Chemistry, University of Calabar. He rose through the ranks and became a Professor of Coordination and Inorganic Chemistry in 2002. A dedicated mentor, he has supervised seven Masters and sixteen doctoral theses. One of the PhD theses he supervised won the National Universities Commission award for Best Thesis in Physical Sciences in Nigerian Universities in 2012. Five of his former students are now Professors while three are Associate Professors.
He has published more than ninety research articles in peer reviewed journals and has served as an external examiner for postgraduate and undergraduate programmes in several Nigerian universities. Within the university system, Professor Offiong has held key positions including Sub Dean, Dean of the Faculty of Science, Dean of Students Affairs, member of the Governing Council of the University of Calabar from 2000 to 2004, Chairman and Zonal Coordinator of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and National Vice President of the union.
Professor Offiong also left a notable footprint in public service. He served as Cross River State Commissioner for Education from 2007 to 2015. During his tenure, schools across the state witnessed significant infrastructural upgrades. The academic performance of Cross River students in the West African Senior School Certificate Examination improved remarkably, moving from twenty second position nationally to seventh in 2012 and sixth in 2013. He played a key role in establishing the Institute of Technology and Management in Ugep and in reopening the state owned College of Education in Akamkpa, which has evolved into the University of Education and Entrepreneurial Studies. He chaired the Conference of State Commissioners of Education in Nigeria between 2009 and 2015 and served on the Presidential Task Team on Education from 2011 to 2015.
His contributions to academia extend beyond Nigeria. Professor Offiong has won several international fellowships and participated in academic exchange programmes across many countries. He has chaired numerous National Universities Commission accreditation panels and was a member of the Presidential Visitation Panel to Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in 2021.
Beyond academia and government, he is actively involved in community and humanitarian service. He is the immediate past President of the Boys Brigade Nigeria, Cross River State Council, and a ruling Elder of the Presbyterian Church of Nigeria. He currently chairs the Education Committee of the Obong of Calabar Executive Forum and the Education Authority of the Presbyterian Schools in Nigeria.
Professor Offiong is married to Professor Ame I. Offiong of the Department of Banking and Finance, University of Calabar. They have three children.
His appointment has generated positive reactions within and outside the university community with many describing his emergence as a step towards repositioning the institution for improved academic standards, research impact and administrative excellence.